'Heavy' ballerina sues

Ballerina Anastasia Volochkova, fired from the Bolshoi Theatre amid allegations that she was too heavy for male dancers to lift, filed a lawsuit in a Moscow court seeking back wages and moral damage compensation, the Itar-Tass news agency reported today.

The Tverskoi district court scheduled the initial hearing for Monday into Volochkova's suit against the Bolshoi administration.

The Bolshoi Theatre fired the 27-year-old dancer last month over a contract dispute. Volochkova was dropped amid allegations that her weight made it difficult for the Bolshoi to find roles for the star ballerina.

Russia's Labour Ministry said the dancer's firing violated Russian labour laws and called on the Bolshoi to reinstate her. But the ministry acknowledged that the final decision rested with the theatre, and the Bolshoi has refused to budge.

"Unfortunately, I have to do it because I am seeking justice and want to assert my rights as well as the rights of other artists," Volochkova was quoted by Itar-Tass as saying.

"Being on the Bolshoi staff means so much to me, and I believe that my dismissal was illegal."

Itar-Tass, citing Volochkova's lawyer Lev Zubovsky, said that the ballerina was seeking damages in "merely a symbolic sum".

The Bolshoi Theatre said it had no immediate comment.

Volochkova, who weighs about 50 kg and is 168 cm tall, has called talk of her weight "humiliating and absurd for Russian ballet".